Means for collecting exhaust gases



w. J. WILLENBOR G MEANS FOR COLLECTING EXHAUST GASES May 11, 1937.

Filed May 25, 1931 WRLTER lWI INVENTOR By LLENEURE.

ATTORNEY Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,080,102 MEANS FOR COLLECTING EXHAUST GASES Walter J. Willenborg, Weehawken,

N. 5., assignor to United States Fire Protection Corporation, Hobokcn, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application May 25, 1931, Serial No. 539,822

4 Claims.

My invention concerns means utilizing, for the purpose of fire protection, the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, and, in particular, of an engine which, as a prime mover,

serves as a source of power for other purposes.

The art of protecting the storage means and conduits of explosives or of dangerous fluids, such as gasoline, by layers or mantles of inert gases has developed with the progress of the automotive industries, the great utility of such protection from the point of view of public safety being now generally recognized. However, the use of of such protection has mostly been limited to places where a greater bulk of explosive materials or fluids is stored. This was due to the great expense involved in the installation of such fire protection; that expense, in turn, resulted from the necessity of providing a separate generating plant for producing inert gases. For 0 such plants internal combustion engines were re quired, the power of which could not be utilized otherwise, because it was necessary to preserve a substantially uniform load on said engine, if the exhaustgases were to have a certain quality of inertness. The load was therefore limited to the means used for boosting the exhaust gases to a pressure at which they could be stored. But to use the exhaust of an internal combustion engine, which serves as an ordinary source of power under varying loads, as a source of inert gases, was not found practical because under varying loads, it was very difficult tomaintain ajsatisfactory quality of inertness in the exhaust gases of an engine.

The question of dividing out gases ofunsatisfactory quality of inertness from the exhaust gas of an engine has been solved by the method and means of my prior inventions, called Control for producer for non-oxidizing gases and Method of controlling the production of nonoxidizing gases, in respect to which I have filed applications for Letters Patent in the United States Patent Office on February 19, 1929, and on May 31, 1930, under Serial No. 341,266 and 458,583, respectively, issued on March 20, 1934, as Patent No. 1,952,005. The present invention makes it possible to obtain inert gases from the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, which primarily is used as a 50 prime mover supplying power for other purposes without disturbing the performance of such an engine.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide means for utilizing the exhaust gases of a prime mover for fire protection purposes without imthe former having been peding the efficiency and smooth function of such a prime mover.

Another object of my invention is to provide in connection with such means devices, which preserve a substantially uniform back; pressure on the exhaust of the engine.

Another object of my invention is to provide on the exhaust of an engine a limited back pressure. That pressure keeps the means, which serve to condition the exhaust gases forv ness purposes, under a safe, substantially constant pressure head; at any rate, it prevents a vacuum.

Another object of this invention is to provide means diverting part of the engine exhaust for the purpose of its utilization as inert gases, without impeding or obstructing the operation of the exhaust.

Another object of; my invention is to provide in connection with themeans, by which the exhaust gases are diverted for the purpose of utilization as inert gases, means properly restricting the amount of such gases to the quaninerttity ordinarily required for the purpose of protection.

, Another object of myinvention is to provide, in connection with an engine and with means utilizing the exhaust gases of such an engine as inert gases, means preventing the pollution of the exhaust gases of the engine by air or by other undesirable matter. p

Another object of my invention is to provide in connection with an internal combustion engine and an apparatus adapted to draw inert gases therefrom, a pump for circulating said inert gases or for boosting its pressure, which has a volumetric displacement considerably smaller than the volume of the gases exhausted from the engine.

These and other objects of my invention I attain by apparatus which may be best explained by the means exemplarily illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Fig. 1 shows a schematic plan view of machinery comprising my invention.

Fig. 2 shows an elevation of a slightly modifled lay-out of my invention.

Similar numerals refer throughout the various views.

The exhaust manifold 5 of the internal combustion engine 6 has a side outlet 1, which connects, by means of conduit 8, to containers 9 and I0, where the gas is scrubbed and filtered. From the conduit 8 branches off a small conduit H, by which samples of the exhaust gases are to similar parts carried through a cooler and strainer IE to an analyzer l3 on a control panel M.

A source of electric current |5 is connected to the analyzer; the current as controlled by the analyzer actuates the complementary valves I5 and H, which are connected with the scrubber 9 and the filter |U through valve means I8, of standard construction. This control and actuation may proceed, as fully described in the first of the aforementioned applications; the valves are thereby actuated as follows:

The valve I6 is open, when the quality of inertness of the exhaust gases is so low, that it is not advisable to use them for protection pur poses, said valve releasing said gases to the air. When the analyzer proves the gases to be of suflicient quality, it closes valve l6 and opens valve H, which may be connected to tanks in which the inert gases are stored, or which. may lead to the location at which the inert gases are to be used.

The valve means I8 is a positively acting pump, compressor or booster, determining the volume of exhaust gases flowing through the system 8, 9, H1, i6, i1. At the same time it raises the gas to a pressure at which it may conveniently be stored. The pump |8 is exemplarily shown to be timed from the engine 6 by means of a belt drive l9 connecting from the shaft of the pump to the crank shaft 20 of the engine.

The manifold 5 of theengine 6 extends past the outlet 1 into the valve 2|, from where it continues as means through which the exhaust gases of an engine are ordinarily disposed of. The valve 2| is a pressure control valve which is closed as long as the engine is at rest, but which is automatically opened when the pressure in the exhaust manifold 5 rises to a predetermined point of pressure. Ordinarily this valve is set to open at a pressure slightly above the pressure of the atmosphere, so that the gas in the exhaust, scrubber and filter is normally above the pressure of the atmosphere.

The valve 2| is detailed in Fig. 2 as a diaphragm valve. A chamber 23 at the top of the valve, is connected by a conduit 22 to the exhaust manifold. A diaphragm in chamber 23 connects with the valve stem 24 controlling the passage of gases through the valve, and it is actuated by the gases issuing thereupon through the conduit 22. The valve 2| is therefore opened when the pressure of the exhaust gases overcomes the back pressure exerted upon the diaphragm by the atmosphere and by the compression spring 25.

The conduit 8 connecting the exhaust manifold to scrubber 9 and filter ill in Fig. 2 is dimensioned so as to restrict the flow of gases through said devices to the amount to be converted in order to obtain the desired quantity of inert gas. The conduit 26 issuing from the filter and the water trap 21 in said conduit may also be dimensioned so as to restrict the flow of exhaust gases through side outlet 1. From the conduit 26, the exhaust gases may directly be distributed to the point of use. These constrictions of the modification of Fig. 2 take the place of the valve means |8 of Fig. 1. Such restricting means, as well as the system, through which the gases are distributed from conduit 26, determine the rate at which the exhaust gases are issued through outlet 1 from the exhaust thereof. The water trap 27 provides a positive seal on the line of condu t n the same manner in which the pump It is a positive valve means in the modification of Fig. 1.

The volumetric capacity of pump 8 at the speed imparted thereto by the engine 6 must be smaller than the volume of the gases exhausted from the engine; (unless means are provided, which reintroduce gases upon the inlet side of the pump as discussed in my prior patent application Serial No. 489,321, entitled Pressure balancing device filed October 17, 1930). In fact the volume of gases, which said pump is designed to handle, may be considerably smaller than the volume of exhaust gases of the engine when the inert gas is only to be used for protection of the fuel, from which said engine is fed,-a use which I have primarily contemplated in perfecting this invention. If we consider that heretofore the capacity of pressure boosting pumps in combination with internal-combustionengine-operated inert-gas producers had to exceed the amount of the exhaust gases of the engine, a great economical advantage of my improvements becomes apparent.

My invention functions as follows: As long as the engine 6 stands still, the exhaust conduit or manifold 5 is closed towards the air as well as in the direction of the branch conduit 8; it is closed towards the air by the valve 2|, and the branch conduit and the cleaning apparatus connected therewith are closed by the positively connecting compressor l8.

When the engine is started the exhaust delivered therefrom will be partly propagated through conduit 8, and the cleaning apparatus 9, Hi, because the gases are pulled therethrough by the compressor 8 which is driven by the engine.

But the compressor l8 does not have the capacity to accommodate all exhaust gases delivered by the engine, so that the slight pressure is built up in the exhaust manifold and actuates the valve 2|, so that part of the exhaust gases are released to the air. The pressure at which the valve 2| released the exhaust gases is thereafter substantially maintained in the exhaust manifold or conduit 8, until the engine is stopped. But even then the said uniform pressure in the exhaust manifold or conduit 8 is maintained unless there are some leaks, through which the pressure in the exhaust manifold is eventually reduced to atmospheric pressure.

The cleaned and compressed gases are directed for use by the valve I! or discarded by the valve 6, these valves being actuated in accordance with the quality of the gases in the manner described in my Patent No. 1,952,005.

The pump 8 may take the shape of any other commonly known valve means. The valve 2| may of course take the shape of any commonly known means, which predeterminedly closes or restricts the flow of gases in a conduit, as long as the pressure in said conduit is below a certain predetermined or fixed point. Therefore I desire to protect my invention broadly, within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In means converting exhaust gases for inert gas use, the combination of the exhaust conduit of an internal combustion engine through which the exploded gases are cyclically,after they have expanded in said engine,-released to the air from an exhaust port of said engine, with a valve closing said conduit and controlling the release of gases therefrom to the air, with a branch conduit diverting some of said gases for use and issuing from said conduit at a point between said port and said valve, and with means actuated by the pressure of the gases in said exhaust conduit and operatively connected with said valve.

2. In means converting exhaust gases for inert gas use, the combination of the exhaust conduit of an internal combustion engine through which the exploded gases are cyclically,-after they have expanded in said engine,-released to the air from an exhaust port of said engine, with a valve closing said conduit and controlling the release of gases therefrom to the air, with a branch conduit diverting some of said gases for use and issuing from said conduit at a point between said port and said valve, and with a compressor in said branch circuit operatively connected with said engine.

3. In means converting exhaust gases for inert gas use, the combination of the exhaust conduit of an internal combustion engine through which the exploded gases are cyclically,--after they have expanded in said engine,--released to the air from an exhaust port of said engine, with a valve closing said conduit and controlling the release of gases therefrom to the air, with a branch conduit diverting some of said gases for use and issuing from said conduit at a point between said port and said valve, and with an apparatus cleaning exhaust gases and a compressor in said branch circuit.

4. In means converting exhaust gases for inert gas use, the combination of the exhaust conduit of an internal combustion engine through which the exploded gases are cyclically,after they have expanded in said engine,-re1eased to the air from an exhaust port of said engine, with a valve closing said conduit and controlling the release of gases therefrom to the air, with a branch conduit diverting some of said gases for use and issuing from said conduit at a pointbetween said port and said valve, with an apparatus cleaning exhaust gases and a compressor in said branch circuit, and valve means in said branch circuit and discarding some of the cleaned gases pumped by said compressor.

WALTER J. WILLENBORG. 

